


Beautiful

by Call_Me_Bob



Category: Naruto
Genre: A little on the open-ended side, M/M, Naruto is soft for all his friends, They don't OFFICIALLY get together, They're both soft for each other, but it's implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28032663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Call_Me_Bob/pseuds/Call_Me_Bob
Summary: Naruto has never seen anyone look as beautiful as Shikamaru when he sees him standing there, staring at the falling snow with a small smile on his face.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 6
Kudos: 112
Collections: ShikaNaru Weekend 2020





	Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a bit prouder of this one than the last one. Naruto is super soft for all his friends all the time and if you don't agree then you're wrong :) Sorry, I don't make the rules.

When Naruto was younger, if you asked him who was the most beautiful person, he would have answered Sakura without hesitation. As time slowly goes on, his opinion doesn’t necessarily change. He still thinks Sakura is beautiful, it’s just that he now thinks all of his friends are beautiful, too. There’s just something about them that warms his heart and makes him feel loved and comforted. It’s a beautiful feeling and that makes them beautiful in his eyes.

However, that doesn’t mean he can’t play favorites occasionally. Like, he thinks Neji’s hair is the nicest or that Sakura has the prettiest eyes or Chouji the loveliest laugh. There’s something about each of his friends that he finds wonderful and endearing, but they are the best and most beautiful when together.

At least, that’s how he thought for the longest time until it changed. It happened so abruptly that it should have given him whiplash, but all it really did was open his eyes and fill him with wonder.

They were in the center of the village, enjoying the decorations that had been put up for the festival being held. It was cold out and everyone was bundled up, but they were laughing and enjoying themselves. Naruto would have said this was the most beautiful memory if not for the fact that it began to snow.

He didn’t particularly care for the stuff, but he also wasn’t against it. Snow happened and it was what it was. The others either didn’t seem to like it, grumbling to themselves about the sudden weather, or they were delighted and gushed about the snowflakes, sticking their tongues out to catch what they could. It was beautiful.

They were beginning to move on to the next stall, still talking about the snow whether it was out of joy or irritability, when Naruto noticed they weren’t all together. He paused mid-step and turned to look for his missing friend and found himself staring.

Shikamaru stood with his hands in his pockets, scarf wrapped haphazardly around his neck. His head was tilted backwards just enough that he could look toward the sky. The snow fluttered down and around him, landing on his shoulders, clinging to his hair. It painted a nice contrast, the white against the black. But what really caught Naruto’s attention was his expression; Shikamaru was wearing a small smile that softened his features. His eyes practically shone in the dim light, a look of tender admiration on his face.

Beautiful.

Naruto wasn’t sure how long he had been staring when Shikamaru lowered his head back down and locked eyes with him. His smile had taken on an amused tilt as he softly shook his head.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Naruto startled at the question slightly, frowning just a bit as he tried to figure out what Shikamaru was talking about. When he came up short, he shrugged. “I don’t know. What’s what supposed to mean? Did someone say something?”

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes a little before snorting softly and shaking his head. “You didn’t even realize you were talking out loud? Dork.” It was said with such fondness that Naruto couldn’t find it in himself to be offended. Rather, he was still confused.

Finally taking pity on his soul, Shikamaru huffed good naturedly. “You said “beautiful,” you goof.”

There were a lot of ways Naruto could have reacted to that. He could have been embarrassed. He could have walked off in shame. Hell, he could have been upset. Instead, all he could find in himself was fondness.

“I was talking about you.” It was the truth and Naruto didn’t like keeping the truth from his friends. Besides, why deny it? Out of all his friends, Shikamaru had always stood out the most to Naruto. He was Naruto’s first friend, the first one to reach out to him, to invite him along, to help him out no matter if it was troublesome or not. Out of all his friends, Shikamaru’s soul was the most beautiful.

And Naruto didn’t break eye contact as Shikmaru stared back at him. After a moment of silence, Naruto found himself smiling as Shikamaru gently shook his head, chuckling softly as he approached. Naruto didn’t comment on how Shikamaru’s ears had only just now turned red despite them being in the cold for a while nor did he say anything about the hand that reached for his own, hanging on as they began to walk after their friends huddling around a stall farther along.

Instead, all he did was enjoy being in the presence of the most beautiful person he had ever known. Perhaps he could bring himself to place one person above all the rest, after all.


End file.
